V. Stiviano Opens Up About Donald Sterling: He's Not a Racist

V. Stiviano, the woman who recorded Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks, sat down with Barbara Walters for her first television interview since Sterling received a lifetime ban from the NBA. And despite the recordings, Stiviano, who maintains ...

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By TV Guide

Granite Falls Advocate Tribune

By TV Guide

Posted May. 3, 2014 at 11:21 AM

By TV Guide

Posted May. 3, 2014 at 11:21 AM

V. Stiviano, the woman who recorded Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's racist remarks, sat down with Barbara Walters for her first television interview since Sterling received a lifetime ban from the NBA. And despite the recordings, Stiviano, who maintains her relationship with Sterling isn't romantic, said she wouldn't call him a racist.

"I think Mr. Sterling is from a different generation than I am. I think he was brought up to believe these things ... segregation, whites and blacks," Stiviano said. "But through his actions he's shown that he's not a racist. He's shown to be a very generous and kind man."

However, Stiviano said she hope Sterling apologizes for his comments, in which he told her not to "promote" her relationship with black people or "bring them to my games."

"I think he's highly more traumatized and hurt by the things that he said himself," Stiviano continued. "I think he can't even believe or understand sometimes the thing he says, and I think he's hurt by it. He's hurting right now."

Stivano admitted she was the one who recorded their conversations and that she shared them with friends, but she denies leaking the audio to TMZ. She also added that the tape that was leaked was only scratching the surface. "There's been a number of occasions where Mr. Sterling and I had conversations just like this one. This was one of very many," she said. "Part of what the world heard was only 15 minutes. There's a number of other hours that the world doesn't know."